Describes how educational facilities can be renovated to meet future changes. Examines the different ways that technology is used in teaching and what administrators should consider when planning infrastructure for communications technology. Discusses the importance of advisory committees and of collecting data regarding school staffs' levels of…

Describes Davis, Fuster Arquitectos' design of an arts school in Puerto Rico as a sequence of light-dappled loggias and sun-drenched courtyards. Includes drawings and photographs. (EV)

Describes Alabama's Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School, which was built for only $70 per square foot. Explores the relationship between its school-to-work, collaborative-learning approach and the building's design. (EV)

Describes the new San Pasqual Union School, designed to blend with its surrounding agricultural community in California; serving grades K-8, the 26-acre compound resembles a working farm, but buildings include 21st-century technology. Includes photographs, project data, and a sidebar on whiteboard technology products. (EV)

A review of more than 100 educational facilities designs revealed common themes: desire for small communities of learners even in large schools, facilities that reflect the community they serve, and larger, more flexible classroom spaces that serve a variety of subject areas. Also noted was an "everything old is new again" trend and attention to…

Design activities allow students to create their own solutions, drawing upon a personal understanding of science principles and examples. We created the 'Houses in the Desert' project to engage middle school students in designing a passive solar house that will keep its owners comfortable in the desert climate. Students used their knowledge of…

Some construction projects that colleges and universities have recently undertaken--residence halls, dining halls, student centers, athletic and recreation centers--have attracted significant criticism. Critics have taken issue with the proliferation and design of buildings intended to structure the use of students' free time and attract…

When designing schools, one should assign space for athletic fields, arrange halls so that traffic will not disturb classrooms, separate grade levels, provide playgrounds exclusively for younger children, and provide lighting and ventilation. Unit plans should be designed so that all educational and domestic activities can be executed in the…

The activities presented in this book encompass a variety of perceptual, social, and technological issues as they relate to the built environment. They are organized to present a coherent, cumulative series. Generalizations become specific as vocabulary is developed and planned techniques explained. Curriculum guide charts indicate subject areas…

A survey of several hundred German students led to two theses on school environment and learning. First, students find school buildings attractive only if they conform to certain features of the human sensory system such as balance. Second, students consider school buildings attractive and inviting only if their architectural message meets such…

This publication describes the Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a regional library for the National Library Service (NLS) example of the creative use of physical space and innovative technology. The publication focuses on the materials-handling system designed for the new facility, including system design…

This document contains amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) that establish guidelines for state and local government facilities and building elements designed for children's use. The amendments change several sections of ADAAG and add new sections that cover access to judicial, legislative, and…

This module, a laboratory supplement on the theory of bending and properties of sections, is part of a first-year, postsecondary structural science technical support course for architectural drafting and design. The first part of this two-part supplement is directed at the instructor and includes the following sections: program objectives; course…

This checklist is designed to provide librarians, architects, and other members of a building design team with a list of questions to ask during the design phase of a new or remodeled library building project. The purpose of the questions is to make sure that no element of the building is overlooked by the building design team in their programming…

Schools will adopt the changes dictated by new services to be rendered, an improved psychology of learning, changing economics and politics, advancing technology, and the realization that schools are in the public domain and that their services and places are held in common to help all people increase the common wealth. (Author/DW)